The 2016 Rules and Sign-ups Post: "I guess I knew the risks when I signed on."
Today, May 18, 2016, is the 20th anniversary of the first airing of "Last Knight," the Forever Knight finale (give or take local syndication). It's also the first day of sign-ups for our 2016 FKFicFest/
fkficfest exchange ficathon game! Yay!
This is our 7th annual game. Let's celebrate Forever Knight and each other! Fun, fanfic, and FK all around!
- Sign-up with a comment on this post by Saturday, June 25, at noon Pacific Time.
- Promote the game to your friends and followers! Invite every faction and shade!
- Comments are screened. I'll unscreen and answer questions. Sign-ups will stay screened.
What's new for 2016? We'll play mostly as we did in 2015! We do have a longer timeline. And I've cranked up the crossover fandom ceiling to 15.
Timeline | Mod | Rules
How to post your story | How to sign up for the exchange | In case of challenge
Timeline
- Wednesday, May 18: Exchange sign-ups open.
- May 19-June 25: Sign-up count posted regularly.
- Saturday, June 25: Exchange sign-ups close. Count finalized. Outcome announced.
- Sunday, June 26: Exchange assignments emailed or challenge prompt re-posted.
- Friday, August 19: [If exchange] Deadline to default with no penalties at all.
- Saturday-Sunday, September 24-25: Stories due on the AO3 (earlier if exchange, later if challenge).
- Sunday, September 25: [If exchange] Pinch-hitters recruited as needed.
- Monday, September 26: Stories begin releasing.
Most deadlines are 11:59 PM Pacific Time (one minute to midnight). But the sign-up deadline is noon Pacific Time.
If playing exchange-style, no stories will reveal until all stories are in or with a pinch-hitter. Stories will release in an order and at a rate determined by the moderator to encourage reading fun for everyone (probably 1/day).
Meet your mod
Your mod is me! // (Amy R.). Please contact me directly at my DW or LJ accounts, or my personal email address (the same one I've used on the FK email lists since '99).
As you may know, I loathe surprises. If something is awry in the game, let me try to help in advance. Ask early! Get it fixed soonest! :-)
Rules
FKFicFest celebrates the remarkable television show Forever Knight (1992-1996) and its wonderful fans! Each day of our festival, I'll (1) reveal a story from the community's AO3 collection and (2) announce the story on DW and LJ. (ForKni-L gets announcements, too, but not necessarily daily.)
Gameplay summary
Expected: Exchange game (9 or more sign-ups)
Each player (1) submits a slate of 3-4 prompts, (2) receives in return a slate of 3-4 prompts submitted by someone else, (3) writes 1 story (or story sequence) of at least 1,000 words (or draws 1 picture of at least 500x500 pixels) to fulfill any 1 of the 3-4 prompts received, (4) receives 1 story (or picture) that fulfills 1 of the prompts submitted, and (5) a wonderful Forever Knight time is had by all.
Contingency: Challenge game (8 or fewer sign-up)
Sign-ups are discarded. Anyone who wishes to play writes 1 story (or story sequence) of at least 1,000 words (or draws 1 picture of at least 500x500 pixels) reflecting her/his own storytelling choices while addressing the community prompt in common. This is the "Reunited (or Torn Apart)" Challenge. (If we play challenge style, expect an optional, additional "bonus" prompt as a sweetener on that announcement.) See examples below.
Rules FAQ
- So that's 3-4 prompts, but only 1 story or picture?
Yes. In an exchange game, each player submits and receives 3-4 prompts, but writes 1 story (or draws 1 picture). Writing more than 1 story is allowed; it isn't required, expected or typical. (In a challenge game, there's only the 1 community prompt.)
- Why 3-4 instead of 3 or 4?
The 4th prompt slot is optional, for crossover prompts only.
- What are the 3-4 kinds of prompts?
Players must submit 1 gen, 1 pairing, and 1 wildcard prompt. Players may submit 1 crossover prompt. This gives options! In FKFicFest, we use these definitions:- Required: "Gen" is primarily about anything other than romantic/sexual relationships or activities. Stories primarily about solving a crime, finding a cure, saving a life, losing a life, fixing the Caddy's heater... these are "gen." (Yes, romance and sex may be mentioned in gen! As minor elements.)
- Required: "Pairing" is primarily about romantic and/or sexual relationships or activities. Stories primarily about finding love, losing love, having sex, getting married, entertaining such fantasies... these are "pairing." (Yes, mysteries may be solved, lives saved and heaters fixed in pairing stories! Pairing may or may not be PWP.)
Important: M/f, f/f and m/m are all equally allowed, rated and respected in FKFicFest. - Required: "Wildcard" may be anything except a crossover. It may be another gen prompt, another pairing prompt, or whatever. (Wildcard is the best place for poly requests.)
- Optional: "Crossover" crosses or fuses Forever Knight with another fandom such that FK receives more than half of the story focus (minimum 51% FK, however you measure). The crossover request may be gen, pairing or wildcard, and it may identify any other fandom (up to 15 fandom possibilities) that complies with all rules. (Matching on crossover fandoms is chancy! Please have realistic expectations.)
Tip: An ampersand ("&") means gen. A slash ("/") means pairing. (For example, "Nick & Lacroix" is a gen, Cousin-of-the-Knight prompt, while "Nick/Lacroix" is a pairing, Unnamed Faction prompt.)
- How long must/may a story be?
All stories must be a minimum of 1,000 words. But a series of closely related shorter stories (including stories using the popular "5 Times" frame) are also allowed, as long as they (1) add up to at least 1,000 words, and (2) post within a single file on the AO3 (the chapter feature helps with this).
We have no maximum length for stories posted directly to the AO3.
- What about beta-reading?
Yes, please! :-) Borrow a fresh pair of eyes! Revise and edit! Please show off your great ideas to their best advantage with good spelling, grammar, punctuation, fact-checking and canon-checking! Yay! (There will be a post to help beta-readers and writers to find each other.)
- CANS O' WORMS! What is forbidden?
- Underage sex. No character who is or appears to be under 18 years of age may be depicted "on screen" in sexual activity. Such activity may happen "off screen." (For example, Divia sex scenes are prohibited.)
- Human incest. No characters with human family consanguinity within the third degree may be depicted "on screen" in sexual activity with each other. Such activity may happen "off screen." (For example, Richard/Natalie is prohibited.)
- Real people. No real private individuals. But public figures may appear consistent with the example of FK canon. (For example, Saint Joan in "For I Have Sinned," Rasputin in "Strings," Hitler in "Jane Doe," Jack the Ripper in "Bad Blood" and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in "Blind Faith.")
- Trolling or flaming. If the moderator believes that you've trolled or flamed, she will ban you. This community is pro-Forever Knight, diversity, tolerance, kindness, respect, truth, justice and the Canadian Way … oh, wait, that's the Knightie Creed. But you know the drill! Constructive criticism is fine. Bashing is not.
- What if I have to drop out?
We'll understand. We'll also be sorry to lose you!
In an exchange game, for any drop-outs, I must find a back-up writer ("pinch hitter"), so an exchange game has deadlines and penalties. If you know you must drop out of the exchange, please do so as soon as possible. The deadline to drop out without any penalty is Friday, August 19, 2016.
If something unavoidable comes up in the final month, please talk to me as soon as possible! Don't just vanish! I'll try to work something out with you, but I can do that only if you get in touch and stay in touch. (Seriously, do not surprise me.) Anyone defaulting by not posting as agreed and/or not responding to my emails/PMs about a missing story will not be allowed to participate in future FKFicFest ficathons, and nobody wants that! We all want to play together again!
In a challenge game, there are no penalties for dropping out. Just sad, sad regret for disappointing us all. ;-)
- When can I post my story elsewhere?
Please wait until after the last story is revealed in the ficathon before also posting your story away from the ficathon. By all means, please do point out your story as soon as it's revealed! Link to it! Invite your friends and followers to your story and to everyone else's stories in the ficathon! But please wait until the game's "masterlist" goes up to post elsewhere.
- What if I don't have an AO3 account?
Ask me for an invitation! The AO3 is very easy to use. (If you have a personal reason for avoiding the AO3, you may post to our community on DW or LJ. If you need this exception, discuss it with me well in advance.)
- How do the “announcements” work?
Each story gets an "announcement" to our DW and LJ communities (and ForKni-L) with a link to the story on the AO3.- Please do write your own announcement in the format below and post it to the community queue on LJ, DW or both. (Why? Posting yourself means that any comments go directly to you!)
- I'll release your announcement(s) on LJ and DW after I release your story on the AO3.
- If you don't create an announcement for LJ or DW or both, that's okay! I'll do it for you.
- How do visual artists participate?
As part of signing up, all players will state (1) whether they wish to play as a writer or as a visual artist, and (2) whether they prefer to receive a story or a picture in answer to their prompts. (Most people will receive stories, regardless, because most players will be writers.)
All rules (including content rules) apply to visual artists exactly as to writers, with these variations:- The picture must be created from scratch, not from screenshots. That is, all forms of original drawing and painting (whether by hand, mouse or other tool) are eligible, but manips and collages (which begin with existing images) are not eligible. (I make manips and collages myself. This is not a slam at those art forms! It's just a parameter for exchange gameplay.)
- The image must be at least 500x500 pixels. There is no maximum.
- The image must be hosted on the artist's own webspace, somewhere the mod can see and confirm it in advance, but where it will not draw attention that would spoil the reveal. (LJ and DW scrapbooks are okay! So is Deviantart!)
- Using an “img” tag and an “a” tag, the AO3 post should display/embed a thumbnail that links to the full-sized image, if the AO3 layout doesn't accommodate the full-sized image itself. (People do this on the AO3 with vids all the time, and I've personally done it with stills. It works.)
- Please note that comic strips and animation drawn/painted from scratch are eligible, but vids from existing footage are not. (An FK vidfest would be a blast! But this isn't that.)
- What's with all the jargon? -or- Help! I don't know the factions!
Faction/affiliation names and other jargon are some of the joys of FK fandom! But our special FK language has evolved through generations of fans. In our prompts, let's translate for each other, defining "Immortal Beloved" or "IB" as "Nick/Janette," for example. For more information on factions, check out the detailed "Factions" entry on the FK Wiki. Or … ask!
In the (hopefully unlikely!) event that 8 or fewer players sign up for the exchange game this year, here's what we'd do:
- The submitted exchange prompt slates would be discarded.
- We would play challenge-style:
- Everyone writes for the same 1 common prompt, selecting her/his own characters, plot and theme.
- There are no individual recipients (just all of us together).
- There's still a submission deadline and release schedule, but there's no default deadline or penalty.
- Those who had signed up for the exchange could choose to drop out of the challenge. Those who didn't sign up for the exchange could choose to join in the challenge.
"Reunited (or Torn Apart)"
Naturally, every FK fan would have a completely different approach to "Reunited (or Torn Apart)" For example, here are just a few scenarios that could address the common prompt:
- "Too late for Richard's hasty funeral, Natalie and Richard's parents return to Toronto. Grief, guilt, and secrets estrange them, until someone reaches out."
- "In an alternate reality where the 'A More Permanent Hell' asteroid landed, Lacroix and Nick find themselves struggling together to preserve some corner of civilization."
- "Stonetree returns to the Hapsburg Accordion Festival."
- "It had been Bourbon's betrayal of Vachon to the Inca that ended their running as a crew. Urs suspects that there had been more on both sides than Vachon admitted."
- "Fed up with another outbreak of Don's unjustified suspicions of her fidelity, Myra issues an ultimatum: get counseling about what his father's affairs did to their family, or get out."
- "Janette knew Miklos long before and far from the Raven. He once did her a favor; now, she can repay it."
- "Nick finds another medium location, like Kessel House in 'Dead of Night,' and becomes obsessed with making amends directly to the departed souls he's wronged, rather than indirectly by serving and protecting the living."
(If we play challenge style, expect an optional, additional "bonus" prompt to try to pick up our spirits at that announcement, which would of course be a sad announcement, as it would mean the exchange sign-ups fell short.)
How to post your story
How to post your story to the AO3
Posting directly to our community collection on the AO3 lets authors edit their stories while the stories sit in the queue. If you find a last-minute typo, or have a last-minute inspiration, you can get right in there before your story releases.
When you finish your story, please post it to the 2016 FKFicFest collection on the AO3. It's very important to add your story to the collection when you post! If you don't add it to the FKFicFest collection, your story will be visible to everyone immediately, instead of veiled as a “mystery story” awaiting its turn. Note that the parent FKFicFest collection is permanently closed; stories should always post to the applicable annual sub-collection (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016).
Steps:
- Click Post New.
- In the Tags block, pick a rating and set any warnings. Enter Forever Knight as the fandom and identify the category (gen, m/f, etc.). Additional tagging (characters, relationships, etc.) is recommended but not required.
- In the Preface block, enter the title and identify yourself as the author. A summary and notes are recommended but not required. (Note: To open the text box for notes content, click one of checkboxes for notes locations.)
- In the Associations block:
- For “Post to Collections / Challenges, enter “2016_FKFicFest.” THIS IS VITAL!
- Then, if we're playing exchange-style, enter your recipient’s AO3 username for “Gift this work to.” (If we're playing challenge-style, there's no individual recipient.)
- Finally, select any of the other options that apply. (Don’t forget the “This work has multiple chapters” option, if applicable.)
- In the “Work Text” block, paste your story. Note: You may work in “plain text with limited HTML” or click the “Rich Text” button.
- In the Post block, consider using “Preview” before posting.
- Then post! Your story will be visible to you (and to me), but everyone else will see a “mystery work” until the reveal.
Write your own announcement in the format given below, and post it to the community queue on DW, LJ or both. I'll release your announcement(s) after I release your story on the AO3. (If you don't create announcements, that’s okay! I'll do it for you.)
Remember that LJ and DW use different username tags (“lj user=brightknightie” vs “user name=brightknightie”). If that’s confusing, just write the usernames in plain text.
Steps:
- Give your announcement post a subject line with your title, rating and type (gen or pairing).
- In the header text block, list at least your title, author, recipient, beta-reader, rating, and any warnings. (Any more is up to you.) The template is below, so you can copy/paste, and fill it in. Note: We use the "white on white" warnings format, so that people can choose to avoid spoilers.
Title: Author: Beta-Reader: Recipient: Prompt: Length: Rating/Warnings: InsertRatingHere. Highlight to view: * InsertWarningHere *
Tip: If your story is a crossover, also identify the other fandom!
- At the bottom of the header block, check that you've inserted your title and URL to link to your story on the AO3.
- Pick the applicable tags.
- Check that your post is not friends-locked, and that it has the appropriate “adult content” setting if applicable.
- Submit the post to the community.
The community is set to moderated posting on both LJ and DW. Your announcement post will go into the queue, and will stay there, invisible and unreachable, until I release it. (I can delete posts from the LJ/DW queues, but you can't update them in the LJ/DW queues.)
Example announcement subject lines and headers
Natalie's announcement subject line and text might look like this: Janette's announcement subject line and text might look like this: "Drawing from Life" by Natlamb (PG, gen) (FK/MCU)
Title: "Drawing from Life"
Crossover: Forever Knight/Marvel Cinematic Universe
Author: Natlamb
Beta-Reader: Raven2U
Recipient: Plantsaretheanswer
Prompt: Nick Knight & Steve Rogers. "I will take up my pencil, which I have forsaken in my great discouragement, and I will go on with my drawing." --Vincent Van Gogh
Length: 1,300 words
Rating/Warnings: PG-13. Highlight to view: * No Warnings *
Summary: Detective Knight receives a mysterious summons from Ottowa to consult on a top-secret project code-named 'Alpha Flight.' Fearing an Enforcer trap, Nick hurries to disappear. Then, an old soldier and fellow artist reappears in his life.
“ Drawing from Life” "A High-Walled Garden" by Raven2U (NC-17, m/f)
Title: "A High-Walled Garden"
Author: Raven2U
Beta-Reader: Littlebear
Recipient: DarkButton
Prompt: Tracy/Vachon. Tracy's interest in past lives disturbs Vachon.
Length: 3,481 words
Characters: Tracy, Vachon, Nick, Urs, Reese, Natalie, Screed, Others
Rating/Warnings: NC-17. Highlight to view: * explicit sex, explicit violence, character death *
Summary: As Tracy's forays into past-life regression reveal lifetimes-spanning entanglements, Vachon must decide whether to admit this bond or to run. He's always been good at running. Destiny? Not so much.
“ A High-Walled Garden”
Tip: You can post your announcement to your own journal - set “private,” so no one else can see it! - before posting it to the community queue. This lets you check its appearance and link. How to sign up for the exchange
To sign up for this exchange game, reply to this post with your answers to the little form below. (Please strive to wish big and demand little!) And of course don't bash; please just say clearly what is and isn't your cup of Ribena.
The sign-up template
AO3 Username: DW Username: LJ Username: Email address: Are you playing as a writer or as a visual artist? ~~~~~~~~~~ FOR YOUR WRITER/ARTIST TO SEE REQUIRED: Gen Request Characters: Prompt: REQUIRED: Pairing Request Characters: Prompt: REQUIRED: Wildcard Request Characters: Prompt: OPTIONAL: Crossover Request Fandom(s): Characters: Prompt: Faction/affiliation or favorite character: Preferred ratings range: 5 things you LOVE to read: 5 things you AVOID reading: Optional: If you have a "Dear Author" letter, share its URL here: ~~~~~~~~~~ FOR YOUR MOD TO USE 3 things you will NOT create: 3 things you LOVE to create: Are you willing to be a back-up writer/artist? Do you prefer to receive a story or a picture in reply to your prompts? How much do you want to write/draw a crossover? If you're willing to write/draw a crossover, please name up to 15 fandoms in which you'd enjoy doing that: ~~~~~~~~~~
Example sign-ups
If Nick were playing with us, his sign-up might look like this: If Lacroix were playing with us, his sign-up might look like this:
AO3 Username: NickBK
DW Username: ---
LJ Username: nbknight
Email address: nknight@metropd.gov.ca
Are you playing as a writer or as a visual artist? Visual artist
~~~~~~~~~~
FOR YOUR WRITER TO SEE
REQUIRED: Gen Request
Characters: Natalie, Schanke, Nick
Prompt: "The only way to have a friend is to be one." --Ralph Waldo Emerson
REQUIRED: Pairing Request
Characters: Urs/Nick
Prompt: What if Vachon's crew arrived in Toronto well before second season? What if Nick and Urs faced second and third season together..?
REQUIRED: Wildcard Request
Characters: Lacroix
Prompt: Nero, Charlemagne and Genghis Kahn
OPTIONAL: Crossover Request
No, thanks.
Faction/affiliation or favorite character: Die-Hard (Refuse to Choose)
Preferred ratings range: around PG-13
5 things you LOVE to read: angst with hope, Nick regaining mortality, historical fiction, spiritual struggles, automotive trivia
5 things you AVOID reading: non-con, evil triumphant, Nick embracing vampirism, Valentine (Lacroix/Natalie), Lacroix inside Nick's mind
~~~~~~~~~~
FOR YOUR MOD TO USE
3 things you will NOT create: non-con, humor, Nick killing people
3 things you LOVE to create: introspection, baseball, characters who are musicians or artists like Nick
Are you willing to be a back-up writer/artist? No
Do you prefer to receive a story or a picture in reply to your prompts? Story
How much do you want to write/draw a crossover? Not at all
If you're willing to write/draw a crossover, please name up to 15 fandoms in which you'd enjoy doing that: Knight Rider (1982)
~~~~~~~~~~
LJ/DW/AO3 Username: Rosebud
Email address: rosebud@freenet.to.ca
Are you playing as a writer or as a visual artist? Writer
~~~~~~~~~~
FOR YOUR WRITER TO SEE
REQUIRED: Gen Request
Characters: Lacroix & Nick
Prompt: The Nightcrawler wins a major broadcasting award. Nicholas is impressed. The Enforcers are not.
REQUIRED: Pairing Request
Characters: Lacroix/Nick
Prompt: When Nicholas has amnesia in "Night in Question," Lacroix resists taking advantage. But when Nicholas's memories are back and he's grappling with the aftermath of the so-called demon possession, what Lacroix wants is what he's sure Nicholas needs.
REQUIRED: Wildcard Request
Characters: Nick/Janette & Lacroix -or- Lacroix/Nick & Janette -or- Lacroix/Nick/Janette
Prompt: a solar eclipse
OPTIONAL: Crossover Request
Fandom(s): MCU or The X-Files
Characters: Lacroix & Fury -or- Lacroix & Skinner
Prompt: "Three can keep a secret, if two of them are dead."
Faction/Affiliation or Favorite Character: Cousin, UF, Valentine, Faithful, Seducer, Dark Knightie…
Preferred Ratings Range: No limits
5 things you LOVE to read: plot, metaphor, Nicholas embracing vampirism, Lacroix winning, vampire eroticism
5 things you AVOID reading: fluff, Nicholas regaining mortality, Lacroix stymied, Nicholas/Natalie, mpreg
"Dear Author" letter:
http://www.cerk.com/rosebud/likesdislikes.html
~~~~~~~~~~
FOR YOUR MOD TO USE
3 things you will NOT create: Nicholas regaining humanity, Nicholas romancing a mortal successfully, "Lite" Lacroix
3 things you LOVE to create: Nicholas/Janette, Nicholas embracing vampirism, monologues
Are you willing to be a back-up writer/artist? Yes
Do you prefer to receive a story or a picture in reply to your prompts? Either is fine
How much do you want to write/draw a crossover? Neutral
If you're willing to write/draw a crossover, please name up to 15 fandoms in which you'd enjoy doing that: MCU and/or 616, Person of Interest, Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, First Century CE RPF, The Borgias, Motive
~~~~~~~~~~
Want to know more about your recipient's preferences? Check out your recipient's journal or fanfic! If you have friends in common, you can ask them. But please try to keep your match a happy surprise for your recipient.
Thank you very much for playing! 20 years? Forever means forever! ;-) Yay, Forever Knight! Yay, us!
Crossposted on DW